The value hotel chain’s new boss has put the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of beds at the centre of his plans

When Peter Gowers was elected president of the Oxford Union in 1994, he was
following in the footsteps of prime ministers including Gladstone, Asquith
and Heath and present political heavyweights such as Boris Johnson and
Michael Gove.

Yet despite enjoying the debating and the “dinners with Henry Kissinger and
the Dalai Lama”, the new chief executive of Travelodge, Britain’s
second-biggest budget hotel chain, says he always knew that he was destined
for a career in business rather than politics.

“It was a lovely experience,” Mr Gowers says. “I admire contemporaries who
went into public service, like Louise Mensch and Nicky